Comments on: Retrieva Tracking & Anti-Theft Dog Collar

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:08:03 +0000

It’s up to each owner to decide when the collar is/isn’t needed – we were just making a point about battery care.

By: GSD Lover

GSD Lover — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:41:10 +0000

Hi can I just voice my concern on one of the tips! Leave the collar unlocked / not working when not in use so what happens if it jumps the gate or is stolen?? All that money for nothing!!

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:17:19 +0000

Hi Robin,

Not sure how long we’ve had ours now – a good couple of years. And it’s actually got better over that time after some recent software updates.

What I can tell you is the I’ve never experienced such good support from a company as we personally have had from Retrieva. We had a couple of teething problems and we were instantly sent new collars free of charge. I think this was after the first year.

But sure, I do get what you are saying and it was a consideration for us when choosing a collar – but he’s right. None of them seem to offer more than a one year warranty. Or they didn’t when we were looking.

By: Robin

Robin — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 09:41:07 +0000

Very interested to read the comments on this collar. I love the quality and technology seemingly on offer with this collar and it seemed perfect. For Chris Swaap and the like who want to see the feedback after a longer period of operating, I agree. It isn’t cheap so it needs to work over a long period. I rang and spoke to Andy at Retrieva yesterday and after a brief conversation was poised with my debit card to order one for just shy of £300 there and then. I then asked about warranty, which is 1 year. Andy explained that after a year they can’t offer any extended warranty beyond that because the product is on a dog. Of course I completely understand that if the collar were damaged in any way by a dog then Retrieva can’t be held responsible. But I said, what if I pay you the £300 and just after the warranty runs out, the device fails. Not damaged, just fails. Anyone who’s owned an MP3 player, a mobile phone or any other electronic gear knows this issue. But he wouldn’t be moved. He thinks that all technology has a years warranty so no need to offer any more. Eventually after discussing extended warranty, even if charged for (like other electronics manufacturers and supplier do) he hung up. How rude! So I don’t think I can do business with Retrieva. If he hadn’t hung up and had said “ok, if it’s not damaged, we’re so confindent in our technology we’ll replace the device maybe with an admin fee”, I’d now be the proud owner of their collar. As it is, I’ll try to find perhaps a lesser sophisticated, but good enough solution at a lower cost. If I have to risk forking out for a replacement in 13 months, at least I could afford it.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:25:52 +0000

Hi,
Just to add that as a recent purchaser of collar, I’ve been really impressed. The web based system addresses almost all of the issues of quick updates, especially if you have someone at home looking via a pc. I have just successfully tracked down my budding Marco Polo in a wood over two miles away from the house. It took half an hour (and some frantic 4X4ing), to locate and retrieve my lost dog, in an area that, without Rerieva, I wouldn’t have searched in a thousand years.
It is far better than I could have hoped for, and an essential for dogs like ours in rural areas.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 10:59:12 +0000

You’re best contacting Retrieva directly for compatibility before you buy, but I reckon it should be fine on the iPhone, as there’s a version of the ViewRanger software for the iPhone. Equally network shouldn’t matter; we went with Orange because we figured that SMS within a network might be just a little faster, but if there is a difference I doubt it’s going to be huge.

Regarding poor signal, well I guess if there’s no network signal then there’s no way for the collar to communicate with your phone – there’s no way round that! Again check with Retrieva themselves though!

By: lyn

lyn — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:23:57 +0000

Can this system work with an Iphone on Vodafone network? Also when out hiking you may be in a vale etc how is tracking recorded if phone signals are poor?

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 01 May 2010 19:36:25 +0000

Hi – sorry for taking a couple of days to reply! There’s nothing new to report really. The early collars suffered from a wiring issue which caused some false alerts, but that’s been resolved and Retrieva replaced all the affected collars (their customer service is consistently very good). The only drawback remains the sometimes slow response, but as noted above that’s got more to do with Orange’s SMS handling than the collar per se. I think it’s still the best solution currently available.

By: Chris Swaap

Chris Swaap — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:21:14 +0000

Hi – do you have any further feedback on the Retrieva now you have used it for a longer period. I am looking to get one in the next few days so would be interested in any updated info.

By: Susan

Susan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:58:20 +0000

Yes, there is a panic button on the dog collar. So if you’re out with your dog and are either injured or feel threatened you can press the button and the collar will send an alert to specified mobile phones along with your coordinates.

Although I think Retrieva also make some kind of tracking device more suited to this purpose. It’s designed for tracking vulnerable people or valuable objects. It’s the same technology as the dog collar but you can just hook it onto your belt. You might get some funny looks if you go out walking wearing a dog collar!